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ROIC Stock Alert: Halper Sadeh LLC Is Investigating Whether the Sale of Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. Is Fair to Shareholders
Shares of retail giant Costco Wholesale ( COST -0.87% ) jumped 11.2% during November, according to data provided by S&P Global Market Intelligence . The company reported monthly sales results early in the month and that's all the encouragement that investors needed to send the stock to an all-time high approaching $1,000 per share. Costco's sales results for October were released on Nov. 6, showing a 7% increase from October 2023. Interestingly, management believes that sales would have been up by an even higher amount. But hurricane preparations in September pulled some sales forward. While a single-digit increase might not seem like much, Costco is one of the biggest businesses in the world with annual sales in excess of $250 billion . Therefore, gaining even a single percentage point translates to billions of dollars. Costco stock has been one of the best performing stocks of the past decade with shares up nearly 600%. And it's also been a great performer in 2024, considering the stock is up 49% year to date as of this writing. And with ongoing strong sales results, investors are reluctant to sell. More all-time highs than one Costco's stock price is hitting all-time highs but so is its valuation. The company went public nearly 40 years ago. But at a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 60, Costco stock has never been more expensive than it is right now, as the chart below shows. COST PE Ratio data by YCharts. In fact, the P/E ratio for Costco stock is more than double its all-time average, which is definitely something that investors today need to take into account when making decisions to buy or sell shares. How should investors process this? In investing, there are various risks, including competition, new technologies, and changing regulations. But valuation can also present a risk. If investors today pay more than Costco is worth, they risk seeing little return on their investment even if the business performs well. This is the only pressing risk that I see with an investment in Costco stock today. And that provides a measure of comfort. Consider that the business uses a membership-based model. And right now, retention rates are high, new members are signing up, and the average age of its members is getting younger, which are all really good signs for the long-term health of the business. For this reason, I find it unlikely that Costco would post financial results bad enough to sink shares back down to more reasonable valuations. It's more likely that shares won't pull back unless there's a broad market decline. If I were a shareholder, I'd take comfort in knowing that the business is as solid as ever, and October financial results showed that. Moreover, the company just released its net sales for November, showing another 6% sales jump. So I wouldn't necessarily consider selling. That said, for those looking to buy Costco stock, it may be prudent to wait for a better price with the valuation now at unprecedented levels.
BHOPAL (India), Dec 5 — Just after midnight as poisonous plumes of smoke wafted through the Indian city of Bhopal four decades ago, Gas Devi was born, gasping for every breath. Her feeble cries were drowned out by the screams of men, women and children as they ran to escape the cloud of highly toxic gas leaking from the Union Carbide factory on the night of December 2, 1984. Some 3,500 people were killed in the immediate aftermath, and up to 25,000 are estimated to have died overall in the world’s deadliest industrial disaster. Forty years later, the horror continues to blight the lives of those like Devi — as well as countless others born with deformities since that fateful night. Devi, a daily wage labourer, has constant pain in her chest, one of her lungs is not developed fully and she keeps falling sick. “My life is a living hell,” Devi told AFP, speaking at her shanty in Bhopal, the capital of the central state of Madhya Pradesh. Even if she wanted, she cannot forget the night she was born. “My parents named me Gas,” she said, her eyes welling up. “I believe this name is a curse. I wish I had died that night”. Twenty-seven tonnes of methyl isocyanate (MIC), used in the production of pesticides, swept through the city of over two million people after one of the tanks storing the deadly chemical shattered its concrete casing. As the white cloud of MIC shrouded areas close to the factory, people started collapsing in the streets. Nathuram Soni, now 81, was among the first to rush out. “People were frothing from their mouths. Some had defecated, some were choking in their own vomit,” said Soni. A handkerchief tied over his nose, Soni used his pushcart to carry his wailing neighbours, many of them infants, to hospital. Unrelenting tragedy Rashida Bee, co-founder of the Chingari Trust charity that offers free treatment to children of gas-affected families, believes those who died were fortunate. “At least their misery ended,” she said. “The unfortunate are those who survived”. Her trust has seen more than 150 children being admitted this year alone with cerebral palsy, hearing and speech impairments and other disabilities. She blames the disorders on the accident and the contamination of the groundwater. Testing of groundwater near the site in the past revealed cancer- and birth defect-causing chemicals 50 times higher than what is accepted as safe by the US Environmental Protection Agency. “This tragedy is showing no signs of relenting,” said Rashida, 68, who has lost several members of her family to cancer since the accident. “The soil and water here are contaminated — that is why kids are still being born with deformities.” Union Carbide, which was acquired by the Michigan-based Dow Chemical Company in 2001, routinely dumped chemical waste years before the disaster, campaigners say. Large evaporation ponds outside the factory were filled with thousands of litres of liquid waste. Toxins penetrated the soil and the water supplying several neighbourhoods. Dow Chemical did not respond to AFP’s request for comment. Tasleem Bano, 48, is convinced of a link between the plant and congenital illnesses. Her son Mohammed Salman’s limbs were splayed when he was born. “His twin brother died in the womb. Salman survived but he could not speak a word till he was six years old,” she said, showing her son’s braces that help him to stand. “Doctors say he is like this because of the gas,” said Tasleem, who inhaled the fumes as a young girl living close to the factory. Salman, 12, could only respond with a toothy grin when asked his name. Like Salman, hundreds of children at the Chingari centre struggle to speak, walk or eat their meals. ‘Corporate massacre’ At the nearby Sambhavna Trust clinic, there is a steady queue of gas survivors seeking treatment. “Data very clearly shows that mortality in the exposed population compared to a matched controlled (population) is much higher,” said Satinath Sarangi, founder of Sambhavna. “In 2011, we’d taken stock through our registered cohorts and we found there was 28 percent more mortality among the gas exposed.” Sarangi, 70, said the MIC fumes damaged the immune system of affected populations and caused chromosomal aberrations, something corroborated by medical research. “Children of gas-exposed parents have much higher prevalence of congenital malformations.” In 1989 Union Carbide, in a partial out-of-court settlement with the Indian government, agreed to pay $470 million in compensation to the victims. But the victims themselves were not consulted in the negotiations, and received just $500 each. The current owners have refused to pay further compensation for the catastrophe that continues to unfold till this day. In 1991, Warren Anderson, Union Carbide chairman and chief executive at the time of the disaster, was charged in India with “culpable homicide not amounting to murder”. But he never stood trial. Anderson died aged 92 in a nursing home in Florida in 2014. A plea seeking compensation of 500,000 rupees ($5,920) from the Indian government for each victim diagnosed with cancer or kidney ailments is languishing in courts. Rachna Dhingra, a social activist from the Bhopal Group for Information and Action, said true justice still evades the survivors. “Until today, not a single individual has gone to jail — even for a day — for killing more than 25,000 people and injuring half a million people, and contaminating the soil and groundwater,” she said. “People in the city are continuing to fight because there is no legal mechanism to hold these corporations accountable worldwide. “Bhopal has taught corporations how to get away with murder.” — AFP
Trump has promised again to release the last JFK files. But experts say don’t expect big revelationsNone
American Airlines Group Inc. stock underperforms Wednesday when compared to competitors despite daily gainsPep Guardiola backed the right of Manchester City fans to boo his side after the Champions League draw with Feyenoord - but believes his side can prove them wrong going forward. City collapsed from 3-0 ahead with 15 minutes left to draw 3-3 as the defence capitulated, prompting boos from some supporters at full-time. City ended their five-game losing streak, but are winless in six and have conceded seven goals in two home games this week - and 17 during this run. Guardiola was asked about the boos after the game and refused to be critical, instead pointing to the support his side receive every week. "Last game against Tottenham, 0-4 supporters were there, applause. They are disappointed of course and we understand it," the manager said, before being asked if boos were justified given City's recent successes. ALSO READ: Feyenoord unusual celebration adds to Liverpool FC taunt for sorry Man City ALSO READ: Man City player ratings vs Feyenoord with one 4/10 and three 5/10s after dramatic Blues collapse "People come here not to remember success of the pass, they come here to see the team win and perform well. I am not the one when the situation is bad or good [to say] what they have to do. These supporters, when we go away, our fans are amazing, travelling. There is nothing to do and they are right to express what they feel." Guardiola insisted that City played well before the collapse and will work to put things right. "It will be a tough season for us and we have to accept it for many circumstances," he admitted. "Today unfortunately the game was well done and we couldn’t punish them in the right moment. The team was so committed in many many things but unfortunately in the moment something happens and we are not strong enough. We have to try and avoid those mistakes. "We have to [lift them], we have to. That is my job. We play a good game but we need to do it and were not able to control the last minutes."
NEW DELHI: India on Saturday accorded former premier Manmohan Singh, one of the architects of the country’s economic liberalisation in the early 1990s, a state funeral with full military honours, complete with a gun salute. Singh, who held office from 2004 to 2014, died at the age of 92 on Thursday, after which seven days of state mourning were declared. The honours were led by President Draupadi Murmu with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in attendance, along with the country’s top civilian and military officials. Bhutan’s King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck also attended the ceremony. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi, who called the former prime minister his mentor and guide, joined Singh’s family as they prayed before his cremation. Earlier, mourners gathered to pay their respects to Singh. His coffin, draped in garlands of flowers, was flanked by a guard of honour and carried to his Congress Party headquarters in New Delhi. It was then taken through the capital to the cremation grounds, accompanied by guards of soldiers and accorded full state honours. Modi called Singh one of India’s “most distinguished leaders”. Opposition Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said he had lost “a mentor and guide”, adding that Singh had “led India with immense wisdom and integrity”. US President Joe Biden called Singh a “true statesman”, saying that he “charted pathbreaking progress that will continue to strengthen our nations — and the world — for generations to come”. The former prime minister was an understated technocrat who was hailed for overseeing an economic boom in his first term. Singh’s second stint ended with a series of major corruption scandals, slowing growth and high inflation. Singh’s unpopularity in his second term, and lacklustre leadership by Nehru-Gandhi scion Rahul Gandhi, the current opposition leader in the lower house, led to Modi’s first landslide victory in 2014. Born in 1932 in the mud-house village of Gah in what is now Pakistan and was then British-ruled India, Singh studied economics to find a way to eradicate poverty in the vast nation. He won scholarships to attend both Cambridge, where he obtained a first in economics, and Oxford, where he completed his doctorate. Singh worked in a string of senior civil service posts, served as a central bank governor and also held various jobs with global agencies including the United Nations. He was tapped in 1991 by then Congress prime minister P.V. Narasimha Rao to serve as finance minister and reel India back from the worst financial crisis in its modern history. Though he had never held an elected post, he was declared the National Congress’s candidate for the highest office in 2004. In his first term, Singh steered the economy through a period of nine per cent growth, lending India the international clout it had long sought. He also sealed a landmark nuclear deal with the United States that he said would help India meet its growing energy needs. President Murmu said that Singh would “always be remembered for his service to the nation, his unblemished political life and his utmost humility”. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() );From Bets To Stocks: ED Arrests Govind Kedia In Illegal Fund Laundering Case Linked To Mahadev Betting AppIn my younger days as a newspaper reporter covering Georgia politics, politicians and journalists alike would wake up on Election Day and check the weather. Where was it raining? And was it hard enough or long enough to impact the vote? And who might it help or hurt? Back then, however, nobody ever woke up and worried about whether a hurricane might have an impact on an election. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. Error! There was an error processing your request. Get news alerts and breaking news stories from the Albany Herald delivered to your email.
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FITCHBURG — John Jeffrey, 71, of Fitchburg is proud supporter of anything Fitchburg High, particularly its football and basketball teams. Jeffrey is a proud FHS graduate, Class of 1971, who played on Hall of Fame coach Doug Grutchfield’s first basketball team in 1970-71, considers legendary FHS Hall of Fame running back Barry MacLean a close, personal friend, and boasts about how his maternal uncle, Dominic Ricci, scored the game-winning touchdown against Leominster in the 1941 Thanksgiving game at then-10-year-old Doyle Field. Knowing all that, one may do a double take upon reading the following: regardless of Saturday’s Chicken Bowl result — a 34-0 Leominster win over Fitchburg at Historic Crocker Field — Jeffrey would have a big smile on his face, since he had grandsons, a pair of first cousins, on both sidelines. The story is incredible, and requires a genealogy flow chart chart to figure it out. In 1978, Jeffrey and his wife had identical twin daughters, Sara and Jill. While they were brought up on the Fitchburg-Leominster rivalry, they attended Gardner High. Sara eventually met and married Craig Lashua of Fitchburg, while Jill married Scott Chester of Leominster. Eagle-eyed Blue Devil readers are quick to take note of that marriage, as Scott Chester is a legendary LHS standout athlete from the early 1980s who scored nine TDs in back-to-back Blue Devil Super Bowl wins, and his father, the late David Chester, was himself a four-sport Leominster luminary from the mid-1950s, who scored 54 points against Fitchburg in basketball, the most points ever scored by one player against the Red Raiders, in 1955. Both Scott and David are Leominster High Hall of Famers. And if you know your local sports history, you’ll know that Craig Lashua’s uncle, Ray, was himself a standout Red Raider grid player under Ed Sullivan; Ray Lashua had 10 point-afters in his senior year of 1954, and a safety against Gardner in their October 1953 meeting. Jill’s marriage to Scott gave birth to Masyn Chester, currently a junior at Leominster High. Masyn has played special teams on the Leominster first team and has been a leader on the Blue Devil JV squad. Much like his old man and paternal grandfather, Masyn is speed personified, and he has been key in the success Leominster has had at this level in 2024. In a game against Shrewsbury a month ago, Masyn Chester scored the go-ahead touchdown in what turned out a 16-8 Blue and White victory. A week prior, Masyn scored three times, rushed for 150 yards and had 50 receiving yards in a JV win over Wachusett. Sara’s marriage gave birth to Cole Lashua, currently an eighth grader at Longsjo Middle School; due to numbers, FHS sought a waiver from the MIAA to allow eighth graders from Academy Street and Memorial Middle School to play on the Red Raider second team. Cole is a big, strong kid who stepped into the quarterback role partway through the season, and has also shown — on video captured by his maternal grandfather — to be a defensive beast who flows like water to the football. While Fitchburg has not been successful in terms of win and losses at the JV level, no one expected them to be world beaters: with a good portion of the team as eighth graders, FHS officials were just expecting the boys to get used to the speed of the high school game, giving those young men vital experience against bigger, stronger — and older — kids. The JV kids FHS faced were as many as four years older than the middle schoolers. Saturday afternoon’s annual sub-varsity grid tilt between the archrivals was the first time the maternal first cousins met on the field in a meaningful manner—and may be the only time. Next year, Masyn and the Blue Devils will come to the corner of Circle and Broad again, this time on a Thursday morning, to do battle with the Red and Gray. And Cole will be there, too, on Fitchburg High’s sideline as a freshman. Freshmen aren’t guaranteed varsity action. That meant the combined Jeffrey, Lashua, and Chester clans savored Saturday — again, regardless of the outcome. The cousins did connect on one first-half play Saturday, as Masyn grabbed a 20-yard Jeddiel Melendez pass at the Fitchburg 1, with Cole grabbing him and preventing him from getting into the end zone. Suffice it to say, “Gunka” Jeffrey will always remember Saturday—the day he has patiently waited for for a long time.